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The Incredible Hulk
::List of crossover stories. The Incredible Hulk is an American television series based on the Marvel comic book character of the same name. The concept was developed for television by Kenneth Johnson. The pilot episodes were a pair of TV movies on the CBS network beginning on 4 November 1977; the series soon followed. It first aired on 10 March 1978, and lasted for five seasons, ending on 2 June 1982. The show starred Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. In early 1977, Frank Price, head of Universal Television, offered producer and writer Kenneth Johnson a deal to develop a TV show based on any of several characters they had licensed from the Marvel Comics library. Johnson turned down the offer at first, but then, while reading the Victor Hugo novel, Les Misérables, he became inspired and began working to develop The Incredible Hulk comic into a TV show. One of the changes he made was to the name of the Hulk's alter ego (Bruce Banner in the comic). A variety of reasons were given for the alteration. According to Marvel spokesperson Stan Lee, Universal changed the name because, in the eyes of the network, "Bruce Banner" sounded like a "gay character" name. However, Johnson later said that this change was due more to avoiding a common comic book practice of naming characters alliteratively (Peter Parker, Clark Kent, etc.). Johnson also omitted the comic book's supporting characters from his TV adaptation, and altered the protagonist's origin story. In the television series, Dr. David Banner is a physician, traumatized by the death of his wife in a car accident. He studies incidents in which people somehow manage to summon superhuman strength in order to save their loved ones, concluding that there is a connection with gamma radiation from sunspots. To test his theory, he bombards his own body with gamma radiation, accidentally administering a far higher dose than he intended. Driving home in a heavy rainstorm, he suffers a flat tire and injures himself while trying to change it. The anger resulting from the pain triggers his first transformation into the Hulk, a seven-foot tall, 330 pound, green-skinned savage sub-human with near superhuman strength. While Banner and his research partner try to reverse the process, there is an intrusion by a reporter named Jack McGee, who is investigating the reported sighting of the Hulk. A lab fire apparently kills Banner, who escapes in Hulk form. Believing it to have killed Banner, McGee reports the creature to the police and publishes a front page headline in his newspaper. Although the authorities are skeptical of the Hulk's existence, McGee vows to capture it; and Banner is forced to go into hiding. Drifting from place to place, always pursued by McGee, he assumes different identities and odd jobs to support himself while trying to find a cure for his condition. Despite his attempts to stay calm, inevitably he finds himself in dangerous situations that trigger his transformations into the Hulk. ::Adapted from the Wikipedia article on The Incredible Hulk television series. Incredible Hulk